What Was Your First Clue?
by Zabby Perno
Summary: Of course Balthazar Blake believes in reincarnation. His old master is standing right in front of him telling The Once and Future King's reincarnation that "I told you you're an ass, Becky, but I didn't know you were a royal one!" Decky implied Merthur.


**Title:** What Was Your First Clue?

**Author:** Forensic Fan '93

**Beta:** None

**Genre: **Humor, Parody (to some extent), Romance.

**Characters:** Merlin/Dave, Balthazar, Arthur/Becky, Veronica.

**Mentioned:** Gwen, Lancelot, Horvath, Gwaine.

**Pairing:** Established Decky

**Set After:** Series 1 of Merlin, The Sorcerer's Apprentice

**A/N:** To be honest, I've had this idea for several months now. Ever notice how Balthazar raises his eyebrow EXACTLY like Gaius? Makes me laugh. The Merthur didn't come out like I wanted it to, but the Decky did. Do realize that Dave and Becky are together because Arthur and Merlin were sleeping together.

**Word Count:** 1,139

**Summary:** Of course Balthazar Blake believes in reincarnation. His old master is standing right in front of him telling The Once and Future King's reincarnation that "I told you you're an ass, Becky, but I didn't know you were a royal one!"

**Disclaimer:** I, Zabrina Blandon, do not own The Sorcerer's Apprentice, nor do I own Merlin. They are the property of their respective owners. (Though, I WISH I were closer to Bradley James in age. :D )

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><p>What was Balthazar's first clue that Merlin, otherwise known as Emrys, had been reincarnated in Dave?<p>

His clumsiness.

Dave could walk into his lab, not be walking down the stairs at all, and trip and fall over thin air. Balthazar could remember Merlin walking down the hall to go talk to King William, Arthur's successor, and tripping over nothing at all.

It had always bemused Max, Veronica and Balthazar that their oh-so studious Master was really a klutz.

What was his second clue?

The ears. Need anymore be said? To be fair, it was Veronica who pointed it out at first. Dave Stutler's ears looked suspiciously familiar.

_And when Merlin blew up their lab the first year Veronica was an apprentice, and he had to cut off all his hair, everyone noticed "the ears" as Merlin himself affectionately called them. Balthazar asked him about it during their private meeting that week._

_Each apprentice was required to meet with their Master once a week. Veronica got Mondays. Balthazar got Tuesdays, and Max got Wednesdays._

"_Master?"_

"_Yes, Balthazar?" Merlin asked, sipping his tea. A boyish look came into Emrys' eyes, making his middle apprentice shiver with worry._

"_Why did you start calling…" he said, gesturing around his head. "You know…"_

_Merlin set his tea cup down. "Honestly? I forgot all about that. I think it was Arthur who started saying that I needed to grow my hair out to cover 'the ears'."_

"_Arthur? As in King Arthur?"_

"_Yes, bloody prat that he was."_

_Balthazar gaped at his Master. "Did you ever call him a prat to his face…?" he asked, in shock and awe that his Master would go up against the Once and Future King._

"_Many times. First time I met him, I told him he was an ass. Second time, I told him that I had told him he was an ass, I just didn't realize he was a royal one." Merlin looked down into his cup of tea. "I was the only person who dared speak to him like that, except for Morgana Pendragon. And she normally threatened bodily harm if Arthur went to Uther with anything she didn't like."_

Balthazar's third clue?

Dave had just turned 21 that day, and Becky had turned 21 a few weeks before hand. She had grown more and more prattish (there was no other word for it!) as the weeks wore on.

The Prime Merlinian had gone upstairs half way through the day, claiming a headache. He'd come down half an hour ago, and was having a shouting match with Becky in the Blake's living room. Veronica wasn't too happy with this, but she found it funny nonetheless .

"Look Becky, I told you you're an ass, Arthur, but I didn't know you were a royal one!"

This stopped whatever Becky was going to say. "Shut up, _Mer_lin!" she said. "I'm the Once and Future King here, you're my bloody Court Sorcerer!"

"I was more than just you 'bloody Court Sorcerer', Arthur!" Dave hollered back. "Who do you think rescued you all those times when you were a prince and I was just your manservant?"

Becky rolled her eyes and stood, back straight, looking annoyingly royal as she did so. "And I apologized for ever doubting you, remember?"

Dave rolled his own eyes. "As close as you ever got to apologizing, Your Royal Prattness!" he snorted.

Veronica and Balthazar were now staring wide eyed and open mouthed at the couple. Neither of the Blakes had revealed to Dave just what Merlin's favorite nickname for King Arthur was.

"Don't be such an idiot, _Mer_lin," Becky bit out, scowl crossing her face.

"Don't be such a…a… clot pole!"

"A _what_?"

Dave paused. "Wait, Becky, have we had this argument before?"

The girl tilted her head. "Seems like it, doesn't…it… Wait. Did you really call me Arthur?" She ran over to the mirror. "Because I'm not a guy!"

"And you called me Merlin!"

Balthazar whispered in his wife's ear to go get that portrait of their Master with King Arthur out of the attic for him if she kindly would.

Veronica stood without a word and moved silently up the stairs as Becky and Dave stared at each other.

"Well," Balthazar said, "as entertaining as that was, would you like to explain to me Dave, where you got the name Your Royal Prattness?"

The young man shrugged. "I dunno. Just popped into my head."

Balthazar turned to Becky. "And where did you get that weird pronunciation of Merlin?"

She shrugged as well. "I don't know. I've just been mentally calling Dave '_Mer_lin' for a few weeks now."

Veronica came down the stairs with the portrait shrunk down. "Here, beloved."

"Thank you, love." Balthazar set the shrunk portrait down, leaning on the couch and said a few words in the Old Tongue. The painting grew until it was the size of a life size painting.

It was a painting of a The Once and Future King and his Warlock. They were facing each other slightly, small secretive smiles on their faces.

The artist had done an excellent job capturing the gracefulness and air of royalty about the King. Whoever had done it had also done an excellent job of capturing the power that Merlin had exuded when he was alive, yet also the gawky awkwardness that had endeared him to so many people.

Becky looked between Merlin and Dave. "Well, it's obvious you're a throwback to _Mer_lin, Dave," she said, snark biting into her voice a little bit.

Veronica spoke up again. "It's obvious, isn't it, beloved?"

"To us, yes. These idiots? No."

In the painting, Arthur was standing to Merlin's left. Becky and Dave turned to face Balthazar, same expressions on their face. "What's obvious?"

If Becky had been born male, she'd have looked like King Arthur did in this painting. Dave looked so much like their Master when he was younger that it was amazing and Balthazar wondered why he hadn't seen it before.

Both looked at the painting, and then at each other. They sat down hard on the floor, and Dave said, "Arthur, is that…?"

"Shut up, _Mer_lin."

Dave then turned while still sitting on the floor to Balthazar and Veronica. "Just so you know, Mister Blakesson…" he said, "I'm going to be as much a pain in your ass as you were in mine."

Becky wasn't even listening anymore. "You know, I wonder where Gwen and Lancelot are…"

"You're wondering about those two?" Dave scoffed. "Gwaine drank both of us under the table! I want to find our drinking buddy again!"

There was a pause as Veronica and Balthazar stared open mouthed, both wishing they had been better apprentices. Then Becky yelled, "WAIT A MINUTE! I GOT REINCARNATED AS A GIRL!"

"Ha! Who's the girl _now_, Arthur!"

"Shut up, _Mer_lin!"

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><p>So, this popped into my head the other day, and I was all like "AH HA! THIS COULD WORK!" Please read and review. Not exactly pleased with this but I would like reviews.<p> 


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